Schneitz didn’t hesitate for even a single moment.
The feeling twisting inside his chest wasn’t exactly fear. It was more like the dread of losing something that hadn’t been lost yet, but he knew was on the verge of destruction. Without looking around, he raised his hand and space cracked in front of him like glass.
A moment later, he disappeared.
The Moon Spring... was calm.
A gentle silver light rose from the surface of the water and had plunged the space into deep silence. There was no trace of the chaos from the battlefield, as if this place was completely separated from the outside world.
Varenos and Lana lay in the water. Their bodies were motionless, but their breathing was weak yet steady. The energy of the moon was slowly healing their wounds.
Around them stood several figures.
The Fallen.
After Daniel had brought Varenos here, he left several of his Fallen behind to make sure both of them were safe and that nothing would go wrong. He wasn’t stupid enough to leave two of the most important people in the Guild without any protection here. Of course, the Moon Spring was deep inside the Guild and under security measures and protection.
But he doubted those things could stop the Goblin Guild.
The silence didn’t last. A short distance away, a figure appeared.
Alaric.
His body was covered in wounds, his breathing heavy, but he was still standing. The shadows around him had turned into curved blades, and every movement he made scattered waves of darkness through the space.
The Fallen had surrounded him.
One of them leaped forward. Its arm transformed into a spear of Fallen energy and shot toward Alaric’s chest.
Alaric quickly spun aside, but at the same moment, another one appeared from behind him and delivered a heavy strike to his shoulder.
The sound of bone breaking.
Alaric gritted his teeth and pushed the creature back with a wave of void, but the pressure didn’t stop.
Every attack he deflected was replaced by another.
He had come here to kill Varenos, but these strange monsters had blocked his way, and unfortunately he couldn’t get past them.
Because of the injuries he had suffered, his power wasn’t at its peak, and besides, these monsters weren’t weak either.
If he didn’t do something about this quickly and kill that bastard as soon as possible, something worse might happen, or that bastard Daniel might suddenly appear.
But at that moment, space twisted and Schneitz appeared.
And that alone was enough for the field to fall silent.
The Fallen pulled back for a moment, as if they had recognized his presence.
Alaric raised his head and his face... collapsed. His eyes widened, and his breath caught in his chest.
"...Impossible..." That aura... that presence... it was Schneitz himself.
But why was this man here? Shouldn’t he be fighting the other Heavenly Kings right now, or his father, or Morkan?
So why was he here? Why hadn’t anyone stopped him? What was going on?
Could it be...?
Without thinking, he tore open space.
Escape.
The only thing his mind was screaming. But Schneitz simply raised his hand and space locked. The cracks closed and the exit disappeared.
Alaric froze in the air, as if the world had decided not to let him move anymore.
Schneitz looked at him calmly. There was no intense anger on his face, only... contempt.
"You’re a little late," his voice was calm.
"...Where is my father?" Alaric opened his lips. It wasn’t that he wanted to be late. Even though he had managed to pass through the security measures here, it hadn’t been easy.
But that wasn’t important right now. Something much more important existed.
"If you’re lucky... you’ll see him soon." A cold smile settled on Schneitz’s lips.
"Morkan is dead." He added.
Silence.
Something broke in Alaric’s gaze. His body trembled, as if he had lost his balance, and then he laughed...?
First quietly, then louder and louder until it became insane.
"...No... no... no..."
He shook his head, as if trying to push reality out of his mind.
Had they really been defeated? With all the advantages they had? How was something like this possible? Especially that final trump card.
What happened? How did everything come to this?
"You... don’t understand..." He raised his head and his eyes... were no longer normal. They were filled with madness and terror.
"You... made him angry." His voice trembled, but his smile grew wider.
"He... won’t let you go."
Schneitz frowned. This sentence sounded wrong and something about it wasn’t natural.
He opened his mouth to ask, but it was too late. Alaric’s body suddenly froze, and for a moment everything went silent.
Then it cracked from the inside, and lines of dark light appeared like fissures in his existence.
Alaric took a breath and his body... collapsed from within. It turned into tiny particles and scattered into the air... without Schneitz even touching him.
Schneitz stared at the spot where he had been standing. His eyes narrowed.
"...What... was that?" And suddenly he realized something.
His eyes widened. If this had happened to this one, then it could happen to the other one too.
"...Valkraz."
He tore open space and disappeared, but by the time he arrived, it was already too late. The Heavenly Kings... were there. The National Ranks... were there.
But no enemy remained. In the air there were only ashes and particles that slowly scattered in the light.
There was no trace left of Valkraz. No body, no presence, only absence.
Daniel was also there, and his gaze was heavy. But when he saw the scene, he paused for a moment.
"...What happened to Alaric?" Schneitz sighed, his gaze still on the ashes.
"He died... the same way."
A heavy silence fell over everyone. One of the Heavenly Kings took a step forward.
"This... wasn’t an attack." Another frowned.
"Remote control?"
No one had an answer. Even they, even at this level, something had happened that they couldn’t understand.
They could only sigh and let go of the matter. Fortunately, everything had ended well. The capital was almost intact and all of them had survived.
All eyes turned toward Daniel.
One of them stepped forward. His gaze was serious, but in it... respect could be seen.
"...We owe you."
Another nodded.
Then another.
Even Kaiser.
Even Adrian.
None of them looked down on him. None of them saw him as less than themselves. They spoke to him... as an equal. They still thought he was a Heavenly King.
Because they couldn’t see his true depth. After all, Daniel’s power no longer fit within the framework they knew. His power system had changed because of his race change.
The only reason the Goblin Guild thought he was an A-rank without being able to see his true depth was because of the information they had obtained about him.
But none of them knew that.
Daniel smiled and spoke with each of them one by one. He also expressed his own gratitude for their help in capturing Valkraz and Morkan. After all, if they hadn’t helped at the end, he wouldn’t have been able to stop them.
Especially since after the time of [Transcendent Self] ended, the penalty had also activated, and he couldn’t use any of his skills for a whole year.
Fortunately it was only the skills. He still had access to his Laws, and those were enough for him.
Then everyone’s gaze turned to the distance.
Large parts of the capital had been destroyed, collapsed buildings, cracked ground, and a heavy silence that had replaced the screams.
"We have a lot of work to do..." one of the Heavenly Kings muttered under his breath.